Once When I Was Little
by Scarlet Letters
Summary: Kurt is diagnosed with cancer as a child.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I would if I could, but I don't so I won't. (Same goes for the song: Once When I Was Little by James Morrison).**

**AN:** I do not claim to know everything about leukemia or treatment in general. I did some late night googling, so feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

* * *

I was the one who would always jump in first  
I didn't think twice to look behind  
Got such a good feeling just from playing in the dirt  
Once when I was little

* * *

When Kurt was five he played in the dirt, he jumped into the pool well ahead of his parents, despite their yelling at him to wait. He was fearless. He was indestructible. Of course he managed to do all of this extremely well dressed, but that was besides the point. When Kurt was five nothing could touch him.

Then he woke up with a bruise, which was nothing new, he was a little boy and little boys got bruises all the time. No one panicked, there were no freak outs, just a salve that was suppose to help but really just smelled terrible, a kiss on the owie, and a push out the door.

Then he woke up with another bruise, and another, and another. Then Kurt's parents started to worry. There was a trip to the hospital where the doctors listened to what had been happening, exchanged a look, and said they wanted to run some tests, "just to make sure nothing was seriously wrong."

There was something seriously wrong.

* * *

We could build a rocket, fly to the moon  
Leave Tuesday morning, be back for noon  
And there wasn't nothing, nothing that we couldn't do  
Once when I was little, once when I was little

* * *

When Kurt's parents found out his mom started to cry, his dad didn't say anything, he just stared at the doctors. Kurt didn't really understand what was going on, he knew that cancer was bad, but only old people got it, so he wasn't really worried. But his parents were upset, and that was kind of scary.

They took him home, but when he tried to change in his swimsuit so he could go swimming they stopped him. And when he wanted to play outside with his friends they said no. Instead they sat him down in front of the television and put in a movie. His favorite, _Sleeping Beauty. _Then they went into the kitchen to talk.

Kurt loved _Sleeping Beauty. _She was the prettiest princess, and when you got injured a kiss made her better. That was how he knew the story was real, because everyone knew a kiss made any owie go away.

* * *

In the kitchen Burt and Katherine Hummel were talking about serious things, like cancer, and treatment, and what they were going to do.

Burt felt lost, his son was only five, this couldn't be happening to him. But the doctor said something about a high white blood cell count. The doctors said they wanted to be sure so they were going to do a bone marrow biopsy, but they felt comfortable saying it was leukemia. Burt scoffed, _Comfortable. How comfortable do they think my son is going to be with leukemia?_ He looked at his wife, _How comfortable do they think we are going to be with leukemia?_

Burt reached for Katherine's hand, she looked at him with tears streaming down her face just like they had been since the doctors gave the diagnosis, "He's going to be fine," Burt told her squeezing her hand, "He's going to get treatment, and he's going to get better, and then this will all seem like a bad dream." His wife tried to smile, but she glanced into the living room where their five year-old son was watching _Sleeping Beauty_ and the smile never made it fully onto her face.

"He's only five," she whispered, "this is too much for him…"

"Kurt is strong," Burt told her, but her eyes remained planted on Kurt, "Listen to me," he said, turning her face back to him, "Kurt is strong. He's going to fight this, and he's going to beat it."

* * *

Kurt cried when they put him on the cold table. He didn't understand why he couldn't wear his own clothes, this dress was uncomfortable and itchy. Then he didn't care anymore, because they were sticking something that hurt in the base of his back and it hurt. Tears streamed down his face as he looked at his dad who held his hand, watching stone-faced as they did a biopsy that would determine the fate of his son.

* * *

It was certain. The bone marrow biopsy had revealed the leukemia cells in Kurt's blood stream. According to the doctor they had been lucky enough to catch the cancer early on and that they would start him on Chemotherapy right away in hopes of eliminating the radiation.

It was kind of strange being in the hospital for so long to Kurt. He was there much longer than he was at a sleep over, but his parents weren't always there. But there were a lot of other kids with him, some were older, and that was kind of cool. And he got to wear his own pajamas, and not the ugly, itchy dress. But most of the time he was scared.

Kurt was scared because the people in ugly white coats would come in and put a needle in him, and then pump something in him and it would go on and on for hours. And then when they were done the scary people in white coats would whisper for a couple of minutes and then leave. There was a tube in him that he wasn't suppose to touch that they left there, even when they were done for the day. Sometimes Kurt couldn't resist touching the tube. They always cleaned it when they were done and taped it closed. Kurt thinks the name of the tube starts with a "c," but he was sure it had a funny name.

Sometimes his mom was with him when the doctors put the needle in his tube, sometimes it was his dad. But more often it was his mom, because his dad had to work at the garage and they were going to build another garage so he had to be there, even if he really wanted to be with Kurt. His dad usually spent the night with him though, cause sometimes that was the only time he got to see him all day.

* * *

Yeah, I could dream more then  
I could believe more then  
That the world could only get better

* * *

After a week Kurt got to go home, and he was really excited and told one of his new friends, Tony, who was thirteen and had been being treated for a year already. Tony smiled at him and told him he would have to come back, and Kurt wasn't excited anymore because why should he leave if he had to come back again? When he told Tony that Tony laughed and said it wasn't actually that bad, and being home was fun.

* * *

Being home was more fun than being at the hospital because he got to see his dad and mom more, and there was more to do, but he didn't get to see Tony all the time like he used to. Kurt kind of missed Tony, now that he was out of the hospital and back at home. Tony used to sit with Kurt while he was throwing up after the treatment and his mom and dad weren't there. And when he was bored he could always go to Tony's room and keep him company unless Tony was getting treatment. But he still enjoyed being home.

A week after he got back his mom was brushing his hair when a chunk fell off his head and onto his lap. All his mom could do was stare at it while tears welled up in her eyes again. Kurt tried to cheer her up by pointing out it was only a little bit of hair, and that he was going to grow more. His mom only shook her head and told him it was all going to fall out. Kurt was shocked, that was impossible, he was going to be bald? How could this happen?

When his dad got home his mom told him what happened. His dad just closed his eyes before going upstairs and grabbing a razor. Kurt cried while they shaved his head, and all of his hair littered the ground around him.

And so it went for months. Kurt puked and cried and then came home to recover before beginning all over again. As they continued with the treatments the doctors appeared hopeful, saying it looked like the cancer was receding. And a year and a half after he started treatment the doctors gave him the all clear.

* * *

When Kurt found out he bounded excitedly into Tony's room. Tony had been in remission for months, but still had to come in for Consolidation Therapy, which was suppose to make sure the cancer didn't come back.

"Tony! Tony! They said I'm better!"

"That's great buddy! But you still have to come in occasionally to make sure you stay better."

Kurt rolled his eyes but nodded anyway, because he knew Tony was right. "I know, but now I won't have to stay at the hospital for a week, then leave, and then come back!" Tony grinned as Kurt chattered on until his parents came in.

"Hi Tony," Burt said, leaning against the door, "We're here for the hooligan, time to take him home for good this time hopefully."

"I heard," Tony said with a grin, "That's great, I'm really happy for you Kurt. You wanna know the best thing about being done with the treatments?" Kurt nodded enthusiastically, "You get to eat whatever you want, they don't make you regulate your diet at all, so make sure you get a huge hotdog when you get home!"

Kurt smiled wide at that, and before Tony could give his son anymore ideas Burt pulled Kurt out of the room saying, "We'll see you around Tony, it's time to get this kiddo back home."

Tony nodded and smiled as the Hummels left his room.

* * *

I could be free more then  
I could pretend more then  
That this life could only show me good times  
Once when I was little

* * *

Things got better at the Hummel household after that. Life was looking up. While Kurt was in and out of the hospital Burt had opened three more garages in Ohio and the business was running smoothly. Kurt was healing and his hair was even growing back. His mom smiled more and laughed more and Kurt got to play outside again.

Kurt swam in the pool like he had before he got sick, and while his parents didn't like him to play in the dirt for too long, he still got to. The tube in his chest was gone, and there weren't as many needles. He got to go back to school where he made more friends his age and who didn't know about the cancer. Overall life was going very well.

And then it wasn't. Then it was a lot worse. And it had nothing to do with Kurt or cancer.

* * *

Late one night Katherine was driving back from the store where she went to pick up ice cream to celebrate two years cancer free. It was dark and it was raining. She could barely see through the windshield. And suddenly there were headlights coming straight at her. She didn't even have time to scream before everything went dark.

Burt Hummel was watching _The Deadliest Catch_ with Kurt when the phone rang. He answered with a gruff, "Hello?"

An unfamiliar voice was on the other end asking, "Is this the residence of Burt and Katherine Hummel?"

"Yes. What do you want?"

"About an hour ago Katherine Hummel was involved in a head on collision with another vehicle. She is currently at Lima Hospital…" The voice continued, but Burt had stopped hearing.

"I'll be right there," He said quickly before hanging up and turning to his son. Kurt was wearing his pajamas already and looking at him in confusion.

"Where are you going daddy?"

"We're going to the hospital son. Your mom was in an accident," Burt told him as he grabbed his and Kurt's coats from the closet and putting a random pair of shoes on Kurt's feet.

"Dad, I can put on my own shoes, and these don't even match my pajamas!"

"Sorry, son, we don't have time for coordination, we need to get to the hospital so we can see your mom. Now put on your coat!" Kurt pouted, but did what he was told. Within five minutes they were out the door and in Burt's truck on the way to the hospital. Burt was quiet the entire way, his body radiating tension keeping Kurt quiet. He didn't really understand what was going on, but this felt like when they told him about the cancer, and that wasn't very good.

When they reached the hospital Burt ran up to the reception desk demanding to know what room his wife was in. The nurse tapped a couple of keys before frowning and saying a doctor would be there to speak with him shortly, and would he mind waiting over in this room for until he arrived.

Kurt had a bad feeling about this.

They waited in the room for about ten minutes before a doctor joined them.

"Mr. Hummel?"

"Yes?"

"I'm afraid we have some bad news, the damage your wife received in the accident was too traumatic, she passed away on the operating table, I'm so sorry."

Burt didn't say anything for a few moments, then he spoke up, "Could you leave us alone for a few minutes, I need to talk to my son." The doctor nodded and left. Burt faced Kurt, who looked smaller than usual as he stared back. Burt took a deep breath.

"Son, do you understand what the doctor meant?" Kurt frowned for a moment before nodding.

"It means she died and can't come back, right?"

Burt nodded as he held back his tears, "Yeah, that's right son," And he broke down, pulling Kurt into his arms as he sobbed.

* * *

There was a time when I trusted everyone  
There was no place that I would not go  
Spend all day on the hillside next to the barley mow  
Oh, once when I was little, yeah, once when I was little

* * *

Kurt stood in a suit next to his dad as he watched his mother's coffin lower into the ground. Everyone had already gone, and it was just the two of them standing there.

"I can't believe she's gone," Burt whispered as he stared at the coffin, "I can't believe she's gone."

"I miss her already," Kurt said, reaching for his dad's hand, "What are we going to do?"

"We're going to keep moving forward somehow."

* * *

_That seems so long ago, _Kurt thinks as he sits for his annual check at the oncology department of the Lima Hospital. He had been coming here since he was five, and after being in remission for four years the cancer had come back when he was ten, and after two years of treatment he was in remission again. Now here he was, seventeen and hoping for the news that he was past the five year hump and life would be looking up. He tried not to think of the bruises on his arms and legs, signs of returning cancer, but they could also be attributed to his daily dumpster dives. After all, he had been clear for almost five years, with any luck he still was.

As he waited for the doctor to come back he brushed the imaginary lint off his Marc Jacobs jacket. Even after his mother had died he had continued with his love for fashion and had soon been searching high end designers for the best in fashion. As he was thinking this the door opened and a doctor walked in holding his charts.

"Hello Kurt."

"Hello," Kurt replied, "So, what's the verdict?"

"Well, I'm sorry to have to say this, but it looks like the cancer might be back."

Kurt never had been able to get past that five year hump.

* * *

Yeah, I could dream more then  
And I believe more then  
That the world could only get better

I could be free more then  
I could pretend more then  
That this life could only show me good times  
Once when I was little

* * *

"So how did that doctor's appointment go?" Mercedes asked as they walked into Glee together, "It was just a routine check up right?"

Kurt smiled absent-mindedly, "Yeah, something like that."

"Good, now what do you think about this outfit?"

Kurt responded to her question mechanically as he thought about what the doctor told him. Now that he was older they wanted to try a higher level of radiation on top of a chemo treatment with a new drug combination. That would mean another week of puking and spontaneous bleeding. He ran his hand through his hair frowning. He might as well shave it now, every other time he had chemo it ended up falling out.

He glanced around the room at his friends before his eyes locked on Finn, _Crap._ None of his friends knew about his first bouts with leukemia, and Finn would know pretty soon. _And this is the downside to scheming to hook your parents up, you get a step-brother with a loud mouth._

Kurt winced, thinking about how quickly the news would spread once Finn knew. _Well, they were going to suspect something anyways when you come in with a shaved head. And I still haven't told dad yet._

_

* * *

_

I used to feel so strong  
Even when they'd tell me, tell me I was wrong  
That I can't live in a magic world  
'Cause it's time for me to grow up  
And I've got to live like the rest of them  
Well, I know things have been lost

* * *

He had put it off, wanting to have a night where it was just them before he told Burt. And tonight was the night, Carol was off at a reunion with a couple of friends and Finn was going to spend the night at Puck's house. It was the perfect opportunity to tell him that he once again hadn't gotten the okay from the doctors.

That night as they watched_ The Deadliest Catch_ Kurt watched his dad out of the corner of his eye. When the show reached a commercial he turned to face him fully.

"Dad?"

"Yeah Kurt?"

"You know how my doctor appointment was yesterday?"

"Yeah?"

"Well they ran the tests right away…"

"And?" Burt asked as he moved to face Kurt giving him his full attention.

"I'm suppose to begin treatment next Monday."

Burt sighed, "God, Kurt, I thought we had it beat for sure this time."

"I did too dad, I did too," Kurt said, shrugging, "So…"

Burt got up from his seat and walked upstairs, coming down with a razor, "You know we don't have to do this right now. We can wait to see if the chemo even makes your hair fall out."

"Dad, it's done it every time so far. It's going to happen this time."

Burt nodded and placed the razor at the base of Kurt's skull.

* * *

Oh, I could pretend more then  
And I could believe more then  
That the world, it would only get better

Oh, I could believe more then, yes I could  
And I could pretend more then  
That this life, it could only show me good times  
Once when I was little

* * *

No one noticed Kurt's missing hair when he walked into school the next day. Of course that might have been because of the hat he wore which encompassed his entire head and would have covered any hair he could have had. And that worked, until Glee Club.

"Alright, so today we're going to be trying on the costumes for Sectionals," Mr. Schuester announced, then he looked at Kurt, "And that includes the hats, so Kurt you'll have to take that hat off."

Kurt winced as he grabbed the hat that went with his costume. He put his hand on top of his head, and before he took off his hat he checked to make sure no one was looking. Seeing everyone else was otherwise occupied he quickly exchanged hats. But not quickly enough.

"Oh my God. Kurt, what happened to your hair!" Rachel screeched from across the room, "While you are allowed to try new things you simply did not have the okay to go that far! We need everyone looking their best for Sectionals!"

Everyone else was silent until Mercedes spoke up.

"White boy…did you shave your head?"

Kurt shrugged. "Maybe?" In a motion too fast for Kurt to stop Puck grabbed Kurt's hat and the room stared at his shaved head, "Okay, yes."

"Why?" Tina asked, looking at him wide eyes, "You love your hair."

"Yeah, I know. Which is why I shaved it."

"Okay, so I may not be the smartest guy in the room," Puck said from next to Kurt, "But even I know that doesn't make sense. You don't shave something you like."

"You shaved your Mohawk," Kurt quickly pointed out.

"Yeah, but not by choice, and it's coming back. What you did," Puck stated, gesturing to the lack of hair on Kurt's skull, "That's going to take a while to come back."

"Six months," the words flew out of Kurt's mouth before he could stop them.

"What?"

Kurt closed his eyes, "After treatment it takes six months for my hair to grow back."

"What treatment?" This time it was Artie who spoke up.

"Chemotherapy and radiation for now, there might be a surgery later if I need it."

The room was silent as they connected the dots, and surprisingly it was Brittany who spoke up, "Do you have cancer?"

"Yeah. I do."

* * *

So here comes the next one, next in line  
Stay as young you can, for the longest time  
'Cause those days flew by  
Like a breeze just passing through  
Once when I was little

* * *

So what do you think? Should I continue, cause I'm thinking of making it longer, without the song of course. And don't forget to Review.

~Scarlet Letters.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I would if I could, but I don't so I won't.**

**AN:** This chapter is a bit shorter than the first one, but it felt like a good place to stop. Thank you for all of the reviews encouraging me to continue, I really appreciate it. I got a much larger response than I expected. In response to a few reviews:

**BigDestiny:** I haven't actually decided if Kurt will live or die, this story is all kind of in my head still.

**Fosterrr:** Thank you for the reassurance that it sounded accurate, I was using the National Cancer Institute's website for information, good to know they are apparently accurate.

* * *

The screech of sound coming from Rachel's mouth echoed across the room causing Puck to wince in pain before he registered what she was saying, _What did Hummel do with his hair that would shock Rachel so much? Everyone knows he does crazy things all the time._ This thought process stuttered to a halt as Puck turned to face Kurt and he noticed something missing. The rest of Rachel's impassioned speech didn't register as Puck took in the sight before him, trying desperately to connect the dots in his head.

It wasn't until Mercedes asked, "White boy…did you shave your head?"

Puck waited for Kurt to admit it and give a reason, but when all that he said was, "Maybe?" Puck reacted quickly before anyone could stop him, yanking the hat off his head and revealing his shaved skull. "Okay, yes," Kurt admitted as the students gaped at him.

The conversation continued for there, and while Puck participated in it half-heartedly by asking questions his mind was miles ahead struggling to fit answers to questions he didn't even know yet. It wasn't until Brittany asked the question that had remained just out of reach that Puck flashed back to reality.

"Do you have cancer?"

"Yeah. I do."

The room was quiet after that as everyone struggled to process what Kurt had just admitted.

"How long have you known?" Finn asked as he stared at Kurt closely.

"About three days," Kurt admitted, "I told my dad yesterday and we shaved my head together."

"How did you find out?" Tina questioned.

"I went in for my annual check up, they ran the tests right away so they could get me the results back."

"What do you mean the results? What were you being checked up for?" Mercedes asked quickly.

Kurt sighed, "They were running a white blood cell count to see if I was still in remission."

"What do you mean _still _in remission?" Mercedes screeched. Puck shifted away from the obviously upset girl while still trying to remain close to the conversation.

Kurt shrugged, "I was first diagnosed with ALL when I was five," noticing the confused looks his classmates were sending him he smiled a little before apologizing, "Sorry, ALL is Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, it's when white blood cells don't behave like they are suppose to. Instead of maturing into the infection fighting and immune helping white blood cells they stall at a phase where they are basically useless and just take up space. But since my body thinks it has already made enough white blood cells it doesn't produce more."

"So what does that mean?" Finn asked, feeling stupid, but as he looked at the faces of his friends he could see they didn't really understand either.

"It means that my body doesn't fight off infection as well as any of yours', instead it can get ill really quickly, and the therapies I have to go through only exasperate that," Kurt answered quietly.

"Can we back up for a second?" Puck asked, "You said you were _first _diagnosed when you were five, so have you been diagnosed multiple times?"

"Yeah, this is the third time, what I have is the recurrent form of ALL, which means it came back. It took a year and a half for the cancer to go away the first time, and it stayed away until I was ten. Then it took two years for me to go back into remission. We were really hopeful that I would be in the clear during this check up because five years is the big hump for cancer patients in remission," Kurt admitted looking at his friends. They stared back as they attempted to process what he had told them.

"So you said you were starting treatment?" Artie asked breaking the silence that seemed to be a reoccurring problem. Kurt nodded, "When do you start?"

"On Monday, I'm going to be doing an outpatient method this time around instead of staying in the hospital because if I feel up to it I might be able to make it to class, and I don't want to fall too far behind," Kurt answered, shuddering a little at the thought of having to face treatment again.

"How long is your treatment?" Finn asked, "And what is it again?"

"It's a dose of radiation and chemo, which means they pump me full of a bunch of drugs and hope it works," Kurt answered, "And I have the treatment for a week usually, sometimes two, then I'm off for three weeks so my body can recover."

"You mentioned a surgery?" Tina asked quietly.

"Yeah, a bone marrow transplant if my dad is a match. When I was five I was too young for it. Generally they don't like giving the youngest patients transplants. And when I was ten I had a really harsh reaction to the drugs, my immune system was shot, so they didn't want to risk the operation because I might not survive any infection that set in," All of this was stated in a matter of fact manner while Kurt avoided eye contact. Puck thought about that for a little while before realizing what Kurt had implied.

"Wait, are you saying you almost died when you were ten?"

Kurt winced before nodding, "Yeah, I had to be put into isolation for a month because my immune system was so low a cold could have killed me." Mercedes made a noise of distress at that and covered her mouth as tears welled up in her eyes.

"It's probably not going to get that bad this time," Kurt reassured her as he ran his hand over his shaved head before realizing there wasn't any hair for him to run his hand through.

"But you don't know that," Puck pointed out, then he quickly wanted to take his words back.

"Oh hell no! You did not just imply that my boy isn't going to beat this!"

"No-I just-"

"Puck!" Quinn sobbed, "How could you be so _cruel_!" Apparently she still hadn't quite gotten over the pregnancy hormones. Kurt attempted to intervene.

"You guys, I'm sure he didn't mean it that way."

"Yeah! Listen to Hummel!" Puck yelled trying to get out of the hole he just dug while avoiding the slaps and nails that were flying towards him. Kurt tried to help him by pulling Mercedes away, but she wasn't letting it go that easily.

"It doesn't matter what he meant! It's what he implied. And if I ever hear anything like that come out of your mouth again I will cut you!" Mercedes threatened after hitting him one more time for good measure. Puck rubbed his head where she had repeatedly hit him before nodding.

"Yeah, I get it."

"Good."

The rest of the class clamored around Kurt trying to find out more information about his treatments, and how long he had been ill, and anything else he was willing to tell. All thoughts of rehearsal was promptly forgotten as they attempted to bathe him in a warm glow of support. And Kurt had to admit it was kind of nice.

* * *

So what do you think? I thought about going longer, but this feels like a good cut off point. Don't for get to review.

~Scarlet Letters


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I would if I could, but I don't so I won't.

**AN:** Sorry about taking so long to update, I just got back to college and am attempting to find my mind. I will continue updating, but it probably won't be as often as any of us would like. Thank you to everyone who reviewed or put this story on their alert and favorites list, you are all pretty awesome.

* * *

Kurt entered the house quietly after Glee rehearsal. Finn had stayed behind to talk to Rachel, and she had agreed to give him a ride home, so Kurt was all by himself. His dad was waiting for him in the living room.

"So how was school today?" Burt asked as he took in Kurt's shaved head which wasn't hidden by a hat like it was when he left school.

"It could have been worse," Kurt admitted as he sat down on a chair across from his dad, "We tried on costumes today for a song, which I forgot we were doing. They included hats, so everybody knows."

Burt looked at him closely before asking, "How did they take it?"

Kurt shrugged, "Not bad, actually. Mercedes was mostly upset that I hadn't told her before, and everyone else just wanted details. So it wasn't anything I couldn't handle."

"That's good," Burt told him as Kurt walked past him. Right before he went down the stairs leading to his room Kurt turned back to his dad.

"Hey dad?"

"Yeah Kurt?" Burt asked from his seat, turning to look at Kurt.

"I'm scared."

"Me too, but we'll beat it this time."

Kurt nodded and went downstairs. He needed to be alone at the moment. After all, he only had this weekend left to be normal, then, on Monday, he would be the kid getting cancer treatments. Only a weekend.

* * *

Puck couldn't fall asleep that night. All that was running through his head was the thought that Kurt might die, that the little family they had created in Glee Club was about to be ripped apart in the most painful way imaginable. Then he felt guilty, because he was doing exactly what Mercedes and Quinn had accused him of, wishing Kurt dead, sort of.

_God this sucks, _he thought with a groan as he rolled over onto his stomach and punched his pillow. _I wonder if Hummel will even be in school on Monday? I wouldn't, I'd totally take advantage of being sick and skip. _Then he felt guilty again, because Kurt wasn't just sick, he was possibly dying.

_God this sucks, _Puck thought again, rolling back onto his back as he tried to fall asleep.

* * *

Kurt allowed the weekend to pass him by. Carol came back and was promptly informed that Kurt would be starting chemotherapy and radiation starting on Monday. She took it much better than Kurt would have thought, but then again she had practice dealing with things that would scare normal people.

Immediately she gathered as much information about leukemia as possible. She searched the internet and the library, gathering both books and pamphlets in an attempt to find a way to make Kurt comfortable during treatment.

Finn didn't really do anything. In fact he was rather awkward about the whole thing. He didn't seem to know what to say to Kurt and because of that he tried to avoid being around him. Which was actually fine with Kurt, he had plenty of people hovering.

Mercedes was one of the people hovering. Her and Quinn, they seemed to want to baby him as much as possible, even though he hadn't even begun treatment. It was as if the moment he admitted to being sick he turned into a toddler who couldn't do anything for himself.

His dad was the only one who really treated him normally, but that was because they had already gone down this road before and had already known it was a possibility that it might happen again. He gave Kurt his space, but was there when Kurt needed a shoulder to lean on. Like he did on Monday.

Staring at the entrance to the hospital was both scary and strangely comforting. Scary because he was once again about to journey down a road that determined if he lived or died. Comforting because he had been down this road before, and had come out safely. Of course he didn't like thinking about the fact that since this was the third time he had been diagnosed with cancer, one way or another there was most likely not going to be a fourth. Yeah, he definitely didn't like thinking that.

Gripping his dad's hand tightly Kurt walked towards the doors and into the building.

* * *

The next few hours were painful and familiar and practically unbearable. After the needle was taken out they simply taped his catheter closed and gave him some pills to take. And reminded him to come back tomorrow for the next dose of the treatment. The combination of drugs and radiation had really taken a lot out of him.

"Do you want to go home?" Burt asked as he helped Kurt out to the car. Kurt was sorely tempted to say yes. His whole body hurt and he couldn't imagine anything better than curling up with his blanket and _Singin' in the Rain, _but he knew if he didn't make the effort to keep things normal now it would be a lot more awkward when he went back to school.

"No, I have Glee today, I think I should try to keep things as normal as possible," Kurt answered, looking straight ahead but occasionally glancing at his dad out of the corner of his eye. Burt frowned before answering.

"If you're sure…"

"I'm sure."

"Alright, try to take it easy though."

* * *

After his dad had driven away after dropping him off Kurt turned to face the school and put on the very familiar mask. If he had his way no one would know he had treatment already. They weren't supposed to practice choreography today in Glee so he should be safe there. He took a step and then another, and soon he was in the building.

And then he was up against the lockers. He really shouldn't be surprised, only the Glee Club knew he had cancer. Sure his head was shaved, but for all the jocks knew some idiot had thought it would be a great joke to shave it for him. _Stupid Neanderthals, _Kurt thought, covering a wince as he pulled himself back up and rubbed his arm. At least they had hit him in the arm rather than in his chest, where the catheter was protruding slightly from his collarbone.

He made his way to the choir room slowly, keeping an eye out for any other jocks who thought it would be funny to push him into the lockers. Luckily with a few careful dodges Kurt managed to make it to Glee practically unscathed. Maybe he was a little out of breath, but that was understandable, those jocks are kind of scary.

He ducked into the room quickly and glanced around at his friends to see who was already there. _Everyone, great, _Kurt thought as he made his way to a seat. They, of course, seemed rather surprised to see him there. Not that any of them actually said that, but Puck did do a double take when Kurt had entered the room.

As Mr. Schuester began to talk Kurt could feel bile rise in the back of his throat. Not because Mr. Schuester's ideas and thoughts were making him sick, though on occasion that did happen, but because of the treatment. _And that is why I shouldn't have come back to school, _Kurt thought, mentally kicking himself. And then Rachel interrupted Mr. Schue.

"I just want to say it's very admirable of Kurt to come to Glee before his therapy. It shows a dedication that nears my own and is very commendable-"

She was going to continue but Mr. Schue cut her off, "Yes, that's very nice Rachel. And Kurt we are very glad that you came to Glee today-"

He was going to say more, but Kurt flew up out of his seat and headed out the door, his hand clutched over his mouth. As he left Kurt could hear Finn say, in that confused tone of his, "But I thought his appointment was this morning?"

* * *

So, what did you think. I would love to hear from you, and feel free to throw any ideas my way.

~Scarlet Letters


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I would if I could, but I don't so I won't.

* * *

The moment Finn's words left his mouth Glee Club was in an uproar, sort of. More like a blaring silence. Then the words registered.

"What do you mean his appointment was this morning?" Puck asked before anyone else opened their mouth.

"Um…I'm pretty sure they made his appointment for the morning," Finn started, his face screwed up as he tried to remember what exactly Burt had told his mom while he had been shoveling food into his mouth, _Something about being sick…or sleeping…Oh yeah! _"They make the appointments for the morning because he gets sick afterwards, and if they make them in the morning he won't be sick by the time it's dark!" The words flew out of Finn's mouth so he wouldn't forget.

"So he had an appointment in the morning, and came here, knowing there was a high possibility that he would be sick," Artie repeated slowly, "Why does this seem like something Kurt would do."

Before anyone could respond the door to the choir room reopened and Kurt walked back into the room, "Sorry about that."

When no one responded Kurt glanced from one face to another, and not recognizing the expressions on their faces asked, "What?"

"You had a treatment, for _cancer_ this morning, and you came to Glee," Mercedes told him.

"Um, yeah, I don't really want to miss too much of class, because then I'll fall behind," Kurt said, a frown forming on his face, "It's not really a big deal. I mean I know what to expect, and I can deal with anything that happens."

"Don't you think you should have informed us of this decision before you went through with it," Rachel began, "After all it affects us all as a Glee Clu-"

"It was his choice Man-Hands, now shut your mouth before I am forced to walk over there and shut it for you," Santana said as she looked at her own hands, which were perfectly manicured, and not at all mannish.

"Wha-" Rachel started to say, but Mercedes interrupted her.

"How are you really white boy?" She asked as Kurt made his way towards the empty chair next to her.

"Not bad," Kurt told her, and Santana snorted, "No, really. The first session is rough and all, but it isn't really that bad. It doesn't get really bad until the first month is over and all the chemicals start working, or not working as the case may be."

"So it's going to get worse?" Quinn asked, looking at him closely.

"Yeah, it will," Kurt shrugged, "But I can handle it. I have before."

"That really isn't reassuring," Puck muttered, but Brittany was the only one who heard him. She looked at him with a puzzled expression on her face, which he matched. She looked away, back towards the rest of the Glee Club who were still focused on Kurt. Once Puck looked back towards the group as well Brittany looked at him again.

"So you're going to have morning treatments for the rest of the week?" Mercedes asked.

"Yeah, if I can I'll try to make it to school, if not Finn's going to pick up my homework," Kurt replied. The others glanced over at Finn, who stared back in confusion.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Quinn asked carefully.

"Well, he comes to my house anyways, you know cause he _lives _there," Kurt said, a sarcastic overtone in his voice made Puck smile. Brittany, who saw this, frowned in concentration, as if she was trying to work out a puzzle that didn't make sense.

"We know he lives there," Mike said, "We're just saying, you know. Maybe he isn't the best choice to get your homework. I mean does he even know what classes you have?"

"Of course I know what classes Kurt has!" Finn said indignantly. The others stared at him, and Finn leaned towards Rachel, "Do you know what classes Kurt has?" He asked out of the corner of his mouth.

"I am willing to gather Kurt's homework and bring it to him on the days he is not able to attend classes, after all it would be for the good of the Glee Club and-" Rachel started saying.

"You know, how about I just grab your homework for you," Mercedes said, nudging Kurt with her elbow, "I know what classes you have, where you live, and it will give me an excuse to check on your white ass."

Kurt smiled, "Okay, that might be a better idea."

"Hey! I'm not that bad," Finn exclaimed, the others stared, "Okay, maybe I am that bad…"

"There is no doubt about that," Puck said, and exchanged a high five with Mike as Finn frowned. "Hey, you know it's true." Finn started to say something, but before he could Mr. Schuester clapped his hands and spoke.

"Alright, now that we have everything sorted out, let's start working on some possible set lists for Sectionals. If anyone has an idea I'd love to hear it."

As Rachel stood up and began delivering another speech about how her idea was perfect, and would definitely win them a spot at Regionals, and of course it would showcase her as a soloist, Kurt's eyes started to droop closed. It had been a long day, even if it was only early afternoon, and everything was catching up to him. No one noticed as his chin drooped down to his chest except Puck, who was watching him rather intently, and Brittany, who was still staring at Puck.

* * *

Kurt woke up with a start when Rachel's voice screeched about how _she _should be the soloist, not Santana, and Santana started back about how she may not be in the ghetto anymore, but that did not mean she wouldn't cut a bitch. He rubbed his eyes as Rachel squawked about being called a bitch. He noticed Mercedes was texting next to him, and rubbed his head. _God, I'm tired, _Kurt thought, then he felt his stomach twist in nausea. _And I feel sick, great, _He thought as he struggled to hold back the heaving motion. Puck, of course, noticed, and leaned towards him.

"You okay Hummel?"

Kurt nodded quickly, and held back another heave, his face grew paler.

"Cause you don't really look that great. In fact, you look kind of pale."

Kurt drew in a quick breath and whispered furiously, "I'm _fine_. Don't worry about it."

"You know, if you're going to puke," Kurt's face turned a little green at this, "The bathroom is definitely the best place for that."

"I _hate_ you right now," Kurt whispered before he stood up and hurried out the door. Mr. Schue threw a questioning glance at Mercedes who shrugged as she returned to her phone.

"Kurt wasn't feeling to good," Puck said, "The medicine, you know."

Mercedes turned to look at him in curiosity, but Mr. Schuester took his words at face value and returned to settling the disagreement between Santana and Rachel, which looked like it was bordering on a full out fist fight, at least on the part of Santana. Rachel looked like she wasn't sure if she wanted to continue yelling or run screaming.

_At least this is entertaining, _Puck thought.

* * *

The rest of the day passed much the same way, Kurt made it through most of his classes with little incident. He had to get out of class a couple times to throw up, but there were no sharp pains, no real headaches. Nothing of any note until he was making his way to his last class of the day and found himself becoming very familiar with a wall of lockers.

_Ow, _Kurt thought as he made full frontal contact. He felt something in his chest pop, and his eyes widened. _Oh shit. This is not good. This is _not_ good._ He felt blood bubbling up in the now gaping hole that once surrounded his catheter. _Oh shit._

He put his hand against the wound, trying to hold in the blood. _Where is it? _He thought looking frantically down at the ground. _There it is! _He thought as he reached toward it with the hand not attempting to hold his blood in his body. He managed to grab the blood covered catheter.

"What are you doing?" A voice asked from behind Kurt. He looked up into the eyes of Puck, who had a slightly amused expression on his face. That is, he looked amused until he saw the blood seeping through Kurt's shirt.

"Puck, I need to get to the hospital."

* * *

So, what did you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts, if it isn't realistic, sorry. I just needed it to work this way to fit where I wanted to take the story.

~Scarlet Letters.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I would if I could, but I don't so I won't.**

**AN: Surprise! Another chapter. This does not mean anyone should get used to any sort of regular update. It just means that I was rocking and rolling in inspiration. Now to reply to some reviews:**

**I do NOT know where this is going. Yes, I believe Puck and Kurt will end up together. I ship that way, so it'll probably happen.**

**I do NOT know if I am planning on offing Kurt yet. It is a possibility, and for some reason I have a fondness for seeing him in pain…so yeah, it might happen. Sorry.**

**Now onto the new chapter.

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**

"What do you mean you need to go to the hospital?" Puck asked as he stared at Kurt. He looked from the blood leaking through Kurt's shirt to Kurt's face and back again.

"I mean I need to go to the hospital."

"No, I got that. Not stupid, you know? I mean why exactly?" Kurt rolled his eyes, clearly the situation was not exactly in working order within Puck's brain. And taking into account the pain he was feeling from the missing catheter he needed to get Puck's brain on track _now._

"Because I am bleeding out right now, that happens when a piece of medical equipment is ripped out of your chest!" Everything clicked in Puck's mind and he nodded.

"Right." He headed off towards the parking lot before pausing and back tracking to where Kurt still sat next to the lockers, "Did you need some help up?" Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Yes, actually that would be very kind of you," He snarked at Puck while struggling to his feet with Puck's help. He slipped a bit on the blood that had dripped from the hole his catheter had left after being ripped out and gasped. Kurt closed his eyes in preparation for even more pain as the floor started coming closer again. Puck caught him before he could fall completely to the ground.

"Yeah, well don't tell anyone," Puck said, glancing quickly at the other students around them, pleased to see no one had noticed them as he helped Kurt out to the parking lot and into his truck, "That would ruin my reputation as a badass." _Why _didn't_ anyone notice us? He's bleeding like a fountain! Well that is a thought for another day. Where were we going? Oh yeah, hospital. Gotta go to the hospital. _Puck thought all of this as he threw his truck in gear. _Gotta go to the hospital._

Kurt grimaced at Puck's attempt at humor and clutched his chest tighter. Puck noticed.

"Hey, you okay over there?" He asked, then, catching himself, added quickly. "…I mean don't bleed on my truck!" There was an awkward pause before Kurt snickered.

"Yeah I'm good, and too late to not bleed on your truck." They were silent for a few minutes as Puck attempted to concentrate on driving.

"So…what happened?" Puck asked, not diverting his gaze from the road. Kurt glanced at him before shrugging, then wincing as the motion pulled at the wound.

"Just got pushed into a locker."

"What?"

"I got pushed into a locker and my catheter popped out," Kurt answered, avoiding eye contact as Puck's gaze jumped from the road to him.

"That's not normal is it?"

"What, getting pushed into lockers or my catheter popping out?" Puck glared at him, "No, usually my catheter doesn't pop out. It's actually supposed to be permanent until my treatment is finished," Kurt told him, "And keep your eyes on the road!" Puck rolled his eyes and refocused on the road.

"So it popping out is a bad thing, right?"

"Yeah, it is."

"But they'll be able to fix it right?"

"Yeah, they'll do the same thing they did before, and just reinsert it where it was suppose to be. Although they'll probably try to reinforce it this time so it doesn't rip out again."

"Well that sucks."

"You do have a way with words Puck," Kurt said rolling his eyes, "Have you ever considered poetry as a career choice?"

"Yep, right up there with being a ballerina."

Kurt turned to stare at Puck in disbelief, "I cannot believe you just said that!"

"I know, I'm just that badassed, right?"

"No…Well, sorta, but it was more that you actually came up with a decent comeback!"

"I have my moments," Puck said with a shrug as they pulled into the hospital parking lot, "So do you need to Emergency Room entrance, or is a normal entrance good?"

"Go ahead and park and we can walk through the ER…You know I'm surprised how well you're taking this," Kurt told him as they parked.

"Yeah, well I've gotten used to the ER runs," Puck informed Kurt as he jumped out of the truck and moved to help Kurt out.

"Were you dropped on your head a lot as a child?"

"No, but I did drop my little sister, and she is basically a magnet for trouble."

"I didn't know you had a little sister," Kurt said glancing at Puck while they walked at a slower pace towards the ER entrance. Towards the end of the walk he was wincing with pain and clutching Puck with one hand in an effort to stay on his feet while also trying to keep his other hand tight on his wound.

"Yeah, she was born when I was nine, so she's eight right now. And she is a regular pain in the ass," Puck joked as they pushed the doors open. Immediately someone screamed, which was odd in Puck's point of view, because you would expect blood in an Emergency Room. He glanced over at Kurt, took in the lines of pain on his face, and reevaluated his previous thoughts, _Yeah, I can see why they screamed, that _is _a lot of blood._ A nurse walked over to them very quickly.

"What seems to be wrong?"

"My catheter popped out at school today," Kurt told her with a wan smile.

"Well that isn't good," the nurse told him, pulling him back towards an empty room, "How did that happen and when was the last time you received treatment?"

"I got pushed into a locker," Kurt admitted as he sat on the examination table and let the nurse look closer at the place on his chest where the catheter used to rest, "And I had chemotherapy and radiation this morning."

"That's strange, under normal circumstances being pushed into a locker wouldn't pop the catheter out," the nurse clucked at him. Kurt only shrugged as Puck frowned.

"It was a hard shove."

"Right…Now it looks like the catheter popped mostly clean through, so it should be an easy fix, although the doctor will probably want to reinforce the opening with some metal. So you won't be able to walk through metal detectors without a good explanation," the nurse warned him. She swabbed the open wound with alcohol, making Kurt wince, and placed some bandages over it to slow the blood flow, "This is a temporary bandage. When the doctor comes in he'll fix you back up."

"As long as it doesn't pop out again I really don't care," Kurt admitted. Puck snorted, and Kurt turned to glare at him.

"Well, let me go get the doctor," the nurse said and walked out of the examination room.

"So no more metal detectors…" Puck started.

"So?"

"I'm kind of glad I stopped bullying you."

"You're hilarious," Kurt said with a grin.

"I know, it just adds to my charm," Puck said, grinning back and flexing his arms.

"And you're oh so humble too I see."

"Hey! Don't make me poke you in the non-existent catheter," Puck warned, reaching toward Kurt threateningly. Kurt squeaked and moved away from Puck as far as the examination table would allow.

"Okay, oww, oww, don't make me laugh, it hurts!" Kurt said, grabbing his chest.

"Hey! No making the bleeding person hurt, or laugh!" The doctor said as he walked in and noticed what they were doing.

"Sorry Dr. Hughes. He didn't mean it," Kurt told him, "By the way, this is Puck, he was there after my catheter popped out."

"Hello Puck, I'm glad someone was there when this happened. Thank you for getting him here so quickly."

Puck shrugged, "It wasn't really anything much. Not like I could have just left the kid lying there bleeding on the hallway floor."

"True," the doctor said with a grin, "And speaking of bleeding, why don't I take off the bandage and see what I can do for you." Kurt nodded, and the doctor reached down and peeled off the bandage which was already caked with blood. "I agree with the nurse, it looks like it ripped fairly clean, so what we'll do is give you some anesthesia and place a metal disk in before we replace the catheter. We'll also put another metal disk in after the catheter so it doesn't slip through the skin as easily."

"Sounds like a plan," Kurt said with a smile, Puck, on the other hand, looked a little green, "I brought the catheter that popped out earlier."

"We're going to put in a new one. There's a chance that the one that came free was deformed and if we put it back in it is more likely to pop out," Dr. Hughes said, " Also even with sterilization there is a higher possibility of infection if it's replaced, and last time you got an infection it didn't go very well."

"That makes sense," Kurt replied. Puck was on the verge of throwing up as he thought about the doctors putting metal disks into Kurt's chest.

"Well, let's get you into a hospital gown, and onto the operating table so we can get this done as quickly as possible," Doctor Hughes said as he stood up, "Does your dad know you are here?"

"No, we didn't exactly have time to let him know," Puck said, "Kurt was bleeding pretty bad and we just needed to get him here as fast as possible."

"Well, why don't you call his dad while we get Kurt situated for the operation," Dr. Hughes said. Puck nodded and Kurt handed him his phone.

"My dad should be at work, so you can call him there," Kurt said as Puck walked towards the door. He nodded to signal that he heard and ducked into the hallway.

"Dad…dad…dad…" Puck muttered under his breath scrolling through Kurt's contact list. When he finally found him he punched the call button and held the phone to his ear. It rang twice before anyone answered.

"Hey Kurt, are you okay?" A gruff voice spoke from the other end. Puck paused as he wondered how the speaker knew who was calling before remembering caller ID.

"No, Mr. Hummel this is-" Puck began only to be interrupted.

"Who the hell are you and why do you have my son's phone?" Kurt's dad barked into Puck's ear.

Puck gulped.

* * *

**So what do you think? I'd love some input and if you have any requests or ideas feel free to make a comment in a review! I make no promises, but you never know if your idea will show up. **

**~Scarlet Letters.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I would if I could, but I don't so I won't.**

**

* * *

**

"Umm, this is Puck-I mean Noah Puckerman, I'm in Glee Club with Kurt," Puck answered quickly.

"What are you doing with my son's phone?"

"Yeah, umm, about that, today during one of our passing periods Kurt got shoved into a locker, and, well, his catheter popped out-"

"What!" Kurt's dad roared in his ear causing Puck to flinch away from the phone.

"Yeah, well his catheter popped out and he was bleeding so I brought him to the hospital and please don't hurt me," Puck babbled. There was silence on the other end and Puck held his breath until he heard a sigh.

"Is Kurt okay?" The man's tone made Puck wince a little, it was like the man really wanted to rip his head off, for something he didn't even do, but was restraining himself by gritting his teeth.

"Yeah, I mean he's taking it pretty well, no melt downs or anything. The doctor's putting in a new catheter right now along with some reinforcements," Puck said all of this as quickly as possible, trying to relieve the man's anger without giving him a reason to take a tire iron to his face.

"Good," The man on the other end of the line sighed, apparently Puck's damage control worked, "I'll be there in twenty minutes, don't let him leave when he gets out of surgery, we need to talk about this."

"Yes sir," Puck answered as Kurt's dad paused.

"And Puckerman," The man said before Puck could hang up the phone.

"Yes sir?"

"Thanks for getting my son to the hospital." Before Puck could say anything back to him Kurt's dad had hung up. He stared at the phone for a few seconds before ducking back into the examination room. There was no one in there so he left the room and headed for the main desk where a nurse sat typing away on her computer. When he cleared his throat she looked up at him with a smile.

"Hello, can I help you?"

"Hey, where did my friend go? I brought him in, his catheter popped out and they were going to replace it."

"Let me check," The nurse said, after a few mouse clicks and a minute of typing she looked back up from her computer, "It looks like he's in surgery now, they are replacing the catheter and reinforcing it."

"Alright, thanks." Puck walked over towards the empty seats and sat down, preparing to wait for either Kurt to come out of the operating room or his dad to arrive. As Puck tried to picture what Kurt's dad would look like all that came to mind was a man who was just this side of gay, it was almost impossible to picture a man who was something else.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later there were loud noises outside the hospital waiting room and a large man who looked like a trucker or a lumber jack burst into the hospital room. "My son came in earlier!" He barked, "My name is Burt Hummel, and if no one tells me where my son is now you can all be expecting some lawsuits on your desks!" Puck stood watching as a nurse stood up hurriedly and quickly walked over to him. She spoke quietly to him and made a few hand gestures, one of them a motion in his direction. Burt Hummel looked at him for a second before marching over to him, "You Puckerman?" He barked. This image definitely did not match up with the image Puck had in his mind.

"Yes," Puck replied with a nod, trying not to cower at the emotions playing across his face. _Man, was this guy bipolar? He seemed fine on the phone, at least I think he sounded fine on the phone…am I going deaf? _Was the only thought that ran through Puck's mind as he stared back at Burt Hummel.

"Where's my kid?"

"In the operating room," Puck replied, "They're replacing his catheter right now," When Burt frowned and made a move to go back to harassing the nurses Puck couldn't help but add, "They haven't come out yet. No one. Not even a nurse."

"Fine," Burt said, slipping into a seat beside Puck, "So can you tell me anymore about what happened?"

"Not much," Puck answered honestly, he had a feeling if he lied Burt Hummel would know and his body would never be found, no matter how grateful he was to Puck for getting Kurt to the hospital, "I wasn't there when he was actually pushed into the locker, but I got there pretty soon after. At least it looked that way going off of how much blood had soaked through his shirt."

"Alright, that just means Kurt's going to have to answer the hard questions," Burt said, pulling off his hat and running his hand through his hair, "Were you there when the doctor looked at him?"

"Yeah." Neither one of them said anything for a little while until Burt broke the silence.

"Well what did they say?"

"Oh, yeah. He said it looked like it pulled clean through and they are replacing it as well as reinforcing it." Burt nodded and neither one of them said anything else until the operation room doors opened and a doctor came out.

"Kurt Hummel?" Burt stood up and Puck followed him to where the doctor stood.

"We put him under during the operation. We replaced the catheter and everything went well. There are two metal disks surrounding the catheter to keep it from pulling out again. It may be a little sore for a while, and it is definitely going to feel strange, but it is a necessary precaution. He's going to need to stay for another hour or so, but after that you may take him home. See that he gets plenty of rest and we'll see him tomorrow," And with that the doctor left leaving Burt and Puck in the waiting room.

After several minutes a nurse approached them and led them to a private room where Kurt was lying on a hospital bed. It surprised Puck how peaceful Kurt looked after everything that had just happened. He was fast asleep, and it took a few seconds of processing for Puck to realize this was because of the anesthesia the doctors gave him. The only things out of place were the hospital gown, which was something Puck knew Kurt would never agree to wear under normal conditions, and the white hospital bandage that peaked out from under the hospital gown collar. Burt gave a large sigh and sat down next to the bed.

Puck fidgeted for a little while due to feeling out of place before he cleared his throat, causing Burt to look at him, "I'm going to go, I don't think you need me here." Burt nodded and Puck walked out the door, thoughts running rampant through his head.

* * *

It was a full hour before Kurt came out of the sleep the anesthesia had put him in for the operation and the first thing that met his eyes was the fuzzy image of his father looking at him through grave eyes. He blinked and the image cleared up, bringing his father into focus. Neither said anything as they simply looked at each other. Kurt opened his mouth to say something, what he didn't know, but Burt beat him to the punch.

"What happened Kurt?"

"I…I was walking to a class when a-uh-someone bumped into me. I was a little unsteady so I ended up falling into a locker, which caused my catheter to pop out. It wasn't anything major," as Kurt tried to explain away his injury Burt didn't miss the hesitance in his voice as he mentioned how he ended up going chest first into a locker.

"You don't really think I buy this 'someone' bumping into you. Who was it?"

"Dad, it's not important."

"Like hell it's not! I want to know who hurt you!"

"Dad-"

"Don't dad me! It's my job to protect you! Now tell me who hurt you!" At this point Burt was yelling, and when he realized this he stopped, both remaining silent. Kurt broke the silence with a hushed thought he knew both of them were thinking.

"You can't protect me from everything." And both knew he wasn't talking about the bullies that roamed the hallways of McKinley High School.

* * *

**So what did you all think? I would love some input. Don't forget to review.**

**~Scarlet Letters**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Hi, I'm here with a new chapter. I have not abandoned this story. And I have a plan, so don't worry, this will be finished…It just may take a little while. Also, I wanted to have this up yesterday but the Doc Manager wouldn't let me upload anything. It was very frustrating.  
**

**Also, as a note to **_**kurtcentric**_**, who requested that this story remain a Kurt/Puck friendship. I do plan on making this a relationship, sorry. However I'm not going to ruin Puck's character by doing so. I don't have plans to make him into a white knight or anything, there's going to be conflict between the two because, let's face it, they're two totally different people and a relationship wouldn't change that. That said, I hope this won't prevent you from continuing to read the story, and hey, the relationship may not fit with the way the story continues to develop. I do have a plan but it can always change. I just wanted to address your concerns, and also, thank you for the review and the wonderful things you had to say about my stories. They made my day.**

**Disclaimer: I would if I could, but I don't so I won't.**

* * *

Kurt was only in the hospital for the rest of the afternoon while the doctors checked to make sure the catheter was going to hold. During that time Kurt had received multiple frantic messages from his friends and it took all he had in him not to roll his eyes as he read things like _"R U OK?"_ and _"DUDE! Where r u? Txt back!" _Needless to say he was now realizing his friends needed to work on their spelling.

After almost two hours of these rather annoying texts while the doctors were running tests on him Kurt finally gave in and sent a mass text back to his friends reassuring them he was alive and informing them to ask Puck for more information. It took barely a minute for him to receive a new text from Mercedes, thankfully with correct spelling.

_What do you mean "Ask Puck?" Don't tell me you told the white boy what happened before me…I don't wanna have to cut a bitch, but I will._

Kurt smiled as he read the message before responding, _Puck found me, so he brought me to the hospital._

It took a longer time for the next message to arrive, but when his phone finally vibrated with a new message Kurt smiled at what it said.

_Okay, but don't expect me to be nice to the idiot just because he took you to the hospital! (THE HOSPITAL!) He totally should have told me what happened!_

_Okay, Text you later to tell you what's what. _And with that Kurt closed his phone and leaned back against the chair he was resting in while waiting for the doctor to tell him he could leave.

"Well, it looks like everything has been fixed, your catheter should hold with no problems. If you do have issues come in right away because, as you know, your immune system is about to enter its weak phase and we don't want to risk an infection setting in. Other than that you're good to go and we'll see you for your next appointment," the doctor told Kurt and Burt with a smile. The two thanked him and left the hospital.

On the car ride back both were quiet, neither one wanting to interrupt the comfortable silence that had settled between the two. By the time they reached home it was already getting dark. Burt went to talk to Carol while Kurt went down stairs. All he wanted to do was curl up in his bed and go to sleep for the rest of the evening, but as he stepped off the last stair he saw Finn sitting on the chair opposite his bed.

"So are you okay?"

"Yeah," Kurt answered with a sigh, "They just replaced my catheter and ran a few tests, nothing new or important."

"Dude, you left school bleeding, that is definitely important."

"First of all, don't call me dude. Second, it's not really that hard to make me bleed, the radiation does funny things to my blood cells and sometimes they pop."

"Eww," Finn said, screwing up his face in disgust, "But other than that you're okay?"

"Yeah, just tired," Finn nodded and got up off the bed, but before leaving the room he stopped.

"You know if anything else like this happens you can call me, right?"

Kurt smiled, "I know, but Puck was there, and he fit the bill. If there's a next time and there's no one else around I'll call you, 'kay?" Finn nodded, looking pacified by the answer he had received.

When Finn had gone up the stairs and closed the door Kurt collapsed on the bed with a groan, he knew he should go to the bathroom and take care of his nighttime skin routine, but he couldn't find the will power to move, or honestly even care. He closed his eyes.

* * *

When he opened them it was to his alarm clock and the sound of feet stomping overhead. _I really need to stop falling asleep in my clothes, _Kurt thought as he took in the wrinkled mess of his clothing.

He quickly went through his skin care routine and then changed into a new pair of jeans and a long sweater that had always made him feel warm and safe before heading upstairs and seeing who was up. Kurt was greeted by the very normal sight of Carol puttering around the kitchen while his father sat at the table drinking a cup of coffee. They both looked up when Kurt came into the kitchen.

"How did you sleep?" Burt asked as he stood to refill his coffee cup.

"Pretty good, I passed out on my bed."

"So no issues with the new catheter?"

"No, I was fine," Kurt said with a smile as he grabbed a cup for his coffee. With a content sigh he sat down next to his dad at the table with the black coffee. Years with just his dad had taught him that the only way to drink coffee was black. After draining half the cup he turned to Carol, "Do you need help with anything?"

"No sweetie, I've got it. Just sit right there and relax," the moment she said that a loud thud was heard from upstairs along with a muffled groan. The three smiled at each other, "Looks like Finn's up," Carol commented as she moved eggs from a pan to a plate.

"Yep," Burt said reaching for the plate of eggs, causing Carol to hit his hand with a spoon.

"You wait until Finn's here and we can all eat together," she warned, shaking her spoon at him. Burt look rightfully chastised as Kurt laughed at him. They had to wait fifteen more minutes before Finn finally came down, during which Burt shifted in his seats impatiently. They enjoyed a quiet breakfast together, only Finn and Burt really talking as football was the main topic.

"Do you have practice today?" Burt asked as Finn shoved a piece of bacon in his mouth.

"Yeah, right after school," Finn said, mouth full of food causing Kurt to scrunch his face up in disgust.

"Swallow before you speak please," Carol said, shaking her head at her son. He swallowed and gave a sheepish grin.

"Sorry mom," Finn told her before turning back to Burt, "Yeah, we have football practice, it should only be a couple of hours though."

"Good," he turned to Kurt, "What about you? Any plans for after school?"

Kurt shrugged, "Not really, I'll probably hang out with Mercedes and Tina, but other than that I don't really know."

"If you're up for it I could use some help with little things around the garage. You know, oil changes, air pressure checks, that sort of thing."

"Yeah, I could stop by," Neither one of them said anything, but they both knew that Burt wanted to keep an eye on Kurt while he could.

"Well, we need to head off to school or we might be late," Kurt announced after a few seconds of awkward silence. Finn glanced at the clock and let out a less than mannish squeak before heading upstairs at a rather brisk pace.

* * *

They made it to school with plenty of time to spare, after all Kurt was mainly concerned with avoiding the uneasy tension that had settled over the family since his hospital trip last night. The two teens parted ways with Finn heading to find Rachel while Kurt moved towards his locker so he could stash his books in a relatively safe place. His path was blocked by a large figure. Kurt looked up to make eye contact with a concerned looking Puck.

"Hey, are you okay?" Kurt couldn't help but smile a little at the jock's concerned tone, even if it was uncharacteristic.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I didn't even have trouble sleeping last night."

"Oh…well that's good," the two stood in awkward silence before Puck broke spoke up again, "You know, if you ever need anything, any help or someone to run interference with the jocks, you can always ask me right?"

The sincerity of Puck's voice shocked Kurt a little but he nodded quickly, "Yeah, I know."

"Okay, that's good," They stood there for a little while longer before Puck nodded and shuffled away awkwardly. And although it seemed unlikely, Kurt was pretty sure that somewhere between bleeding out of a hole in his chest, the mad drive to the hospital, and today's awkward concern he had managed to make a new friend in a former bully. _Huh, _he thought, _well that's interesting._

* * *

**AN: Well that's another chapter down. I would love to hear what you think, so feel free to review.**

**~Scarlet Letters**


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